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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27177038">Full Moon Night</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/greygerbil/pseuds/greygerbil'>greygerbil</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Assassin's Creed - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M, Mpreg, Supernatural Elements</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:22:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,089</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27177038</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/greygerbil/pseuds/greygerbil</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Charles wakes up in the middle of the night to find an unexpected visitor in his house - twice.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Haytham Kenway/Charles Lee (1732-1782)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Shipoween 2020 - The Halloween Ship Exchange!</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Full Moon Night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luthienberen/gifts">Luthienberen</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As Charles unbuttoned his shirt, he realised from the tight seat of the fabric that he would soon have to have his clothes let out. He had been told some people showed quite little in the first half of the pregnancy and even beyond, but it was becoming increasingly clear that he would not be one of them. Benjamin Church had already confirmed it a month ago, but now it was plainly evident that the heat which Haytham and Charles had spent together had born fruit.</p><p>Charles reached for the loose, rough-spun wool shirt and breeches he slept in. Now that the pregnancy had taken, it was already certain that Haytham would marry him so Charles wouldn’t be left disgraced in the eyes of the public, even if the Templars would have been aware that Charles had only done his duty to the Order, proving his loyalty with a child which would from the first day be raised a Templar.</p><p>However, though he knew it was foolish, Charles could not but wish that perhaps it would have needed a couple of tries.</p><p>All discussions him and Haytham had had about this issue of Charles’s initiation had been very matter-of-fact. They were both reasonable men, after all, with Charles eager to prove so to Haytham, and such a marriage of convenience would likely not include sex or feelings other than respect and friendship.</p><p>Except, of course, that Charles was already desperately in love with Haytham.</p><p>After a year of knowing him, he didn’t think he would ever hold Haytham’s interest as more than a friend and protégé, which he was thankful for regardless, considering the door it had opened for him. He was willing to admit – only to himself – that he would have gladly taken the physical affection of another few heats spent together if it was all he could have, though. The heat they had shared had exceeded even his wildest, most idealised expectations. Charles had never had an issue keeping up with any alpha, but Haytham had wrapped him around his fingers and taken him apart at his leisure and left Charles beyond words by the end of those two days.</p><p>He firmly set the thought aside before he’d be tempted by the memory to take himself in hand. The pregnancy already had his instincts all over the place and even if Haytham would have had any interest in him, he was still on Templar business way in the north of the country on the order of Reginald Birch, as he had been since the week after conception. Sometimes, pleasing himself to the thought of Haytham left Charles feeling worse afterwards than before, anyway. After all, while he wanted his body, he wanted more, too.</p><p>Charles crept into bed instead, extinguishing the candle on the table next to him, and allowed the somewhat perpetual exhaustion that had seeped into him for the last month to carry him off.</p><p>-</p><p>He did not know when he woke, for it was still in the dark of night, but even through the sound of rain crackling outside he heard Spado growling and yapping downstairs.</p><p>Spado often invited smiles for his diminutive size, but he was a hound who had followed a soldier around all his short life and was not likely to clamour at the storm like a lap dog. Charles fumbled in the dark for the dagger he always kept under the pillow, found the pistol in the nightstand, and got up quickly, making sure to walk with light feet so the old wooden boards of the small town house he had rented would not creak.</p><p>Glancing down the narrow set of stairs at the end of the hallway, he found that there was a faint light in the sitting room, perhaps a lantern the robber had brought. As he descended the steps, he noticed he couldn’t hear Spado anymore. Hopefully, that didn’t mean the intruder had killed the dog in some swift, quiet way.</p><p>The thought made him clench his teeth and move more rashly than he should have. Charles lifted his pistol and stepped into the square of light.</p><p>Haytham sat motionlessly in the high-backed chair, his wet coat hung up on the rack. There was water on the ground in front of the window. One of the candles on the table was lit.</p><p>“I always considered Spado more of an indulgence, but he valiantly attempted to bite my ankles when I climbed through the window, until he realised who I was,” he said with an amused smile. “A fierce little guard.”</p><p>“He does very well in alerting me. You could have come to the door, though, Master Kenway!”</p><p>Lowering the gun, Charles smiled, relief running through him. Spado, his small Pomeranian, bounced towards him and Charles laid his weapons aside to scratch him behind the ears in reward for his diligence.</p><p>“I didn’t plan to disturb you so late at night. I wanted to wait here until the morning. Spado would not let you rest despite your condition, though.”</p><p>“Ah – my letter reached you, then.”</p><p>Charles felt himself glowing under Haytham’s approving gaze. He wished immediately he’d be dressed in more than his sleeping clothes and had tied back his unkempt hair, but reminded himself that Haytham had seen him in a much greater state of dishevelment.</p><p>“Indeed. It made it even more troublesome to keep dragging this mission out, but unfortunately, I could return no sooner. How have you been?”</p><p>Charles took a seat opposite of Haytham.</p><p>“There’s nothing to worry about. Benjamin says I should be progressing well, since I’m in good overall condition.”</p><p>There had been some nausea and the general tiredness, but since Charles was hoping for a second or third child between them eventually, he saw no reason to underline the ways in which his body did not enjoy dealing with the pregnancy. None of those things were particularly out of the ordinary.</p><p>“That’s good to hear. We are lucky that it worked so quickly – although,” a fleeting smile touched Haytham’s lips, “I suppose we did do all in our might to make certain of it.”</p><p>Charles laughed, a little startled. Between the tents, he would hardly have balked at much less subtle dirty jokes told by his comrades, but now he also had to hide the hot excitement in his centre that the thought called back immediately when Haytham spoke of what had happened between them.</p><p>“Did you only just return, Master Kenway?” he asked, to distract them both.</p><p>“Indeed. I wanted to check in on you as quickly as possible and I figured you wouldn’t mind if I spent the night in your sitting room. I must also admit the storm caught me out.”</p><p>“You’re very welcome to stay, of course. Do you have accommodations in the city yet?”</p><p>“No, not unless I find an inn tonight. I can leave through the window tomorrow, though.”</p><p>“I doubt that’s necessary.”</p><p>Haytham opened his mouth, but in the end just smiled and gave a nod. They both understood what Haytham was too polite to say: that Charles had a bad reputation, anyway, and that even if Haytham left through the front door as Charles’s guest, it wouldn’t make much of a difference. Any omega who had been a soldier for as many years as Charles would have their honour in tatters. The rumours about what happened in the camps would always produce gossip, even though Charles had been clever enough to only pick his alphas outside of the army so no one had anything substantial to hold against him.</p><p>It would mostly have mattered for finding a husband or wife. He’d already done that, had he not? Somehow, the thought was still a bit surreal, so he could not help but check again.</p><p>“You would be staying with me in the future, anyway, wouldn’t you, Master Kenway?”</p><p>“Yes, of course. Now that you are pregnant, I have already written to Birch that we will go along with the wedding. As soon as I hear back from him and we have an agreement from your parents, we needn’t wait any longer.”</p><p>“I’m certain they will be overjoyed.”</p><p>Haytham was no lord, but he was a respectable man who even had a fleeting acquaintance with his parents. They would be relieved to hear that someone like him was willing to take Charles on, especially his mother, who had always looked on with concern as his father made Charles the soldier he had wanted to raise irrespective of Charles’s alignment.</p><p>“Then I would like you to prepare a letter for them to add to mine. I should say it’s easiest to claim the marriage is based on mutual affection, don’t you think?”</p><p>Charles nodded his head and already knew that he’d be reading Haytham’s letter even if it would hurt to indulge in the idea that it was the truth.</p><p>“Good.” Haytham glanced out the window into the rain-wet dark of night. “I don’t want to keep you up. Do you have a guest bedroom?”</p><p>Though Charles had known that was where Haytham would likely ask to stay, he couldn’t help but be a little disappointed that Haytham had not gone for the option to join Charles. Of course he would not. That would have been crass, which Haytham had never been.</p><p>“I do. Before you go, though, may I ask if the business you were on pertained to the precursor cave you have spoken of before?”</p><p>“No, not this time,” Haytham said. “It was the sort of trouble both the Templar and Assassin Order deal with on occasion – and one of the few points about which they rarely fight. Common enemies, if you will. It does take a bit of time to introduce members to the full truth, though, considering how vastly strange it is to the world view of most reasonable men and women. Don’t worry, though, I shall have that conversation with you.”</p><p>“I hope you do soon,” Charles said, and, hearing the boyish eagerness in his own voice and seeing Haytham smile in response, cleared his throat to chase away the tone, feeling a little sheepish.</p><p>He understood why Haytham would not want to bury him under yet more information, since the amount of secrets and truths about the history of the world and its people he’d learned over the months he was newly a Templar already made his head spin. However, he was still hungry for more to be uncovered, allowing him to see the full tapestry.</p><p>“I promise,” Haytham said. “For now, however, we should head to bed.”</p><p>“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to knock,” Charles said, bowing his head.</p><p>-</p><p>The next day, after they had eaten breakfast together, Haytham had excused himself on errands in the city and asked Charles to meet him back with the rest of their Order at the Green Dragon in the evening. Charles made his way there through a mist of fizzling rain. Summer had fully run out now and a cold wind blew leaves through the muddy streets of Boston. He wished he could have had a drink to warm him up, but since he had gotten pregnant, alcohol did not agree with him anymore, so he brought ginger tea up from the bar.</p><p>William and Thomas already sat at the table, with Thomas’s feet up on it. After greeting William, Charles pushed past Thomas with a disdainful gaze, sitting next to him only in the hopes that Haytham would take the empty seat at the head of the table on his other side.</p><p>“Do we need your dirty boots on the table?” he asked Thomas.</p><p>“Maybe I like them there.”</p><p>“Master Kenway will just ask you to take them down when he comes and you’ll listen. You may as well do it now.”</p><p>Thomas did take his feet off the table at that, but only to sit straight. “He’s back? Since when?”</p><p>“I told you about that,” William said calmly, looking down at a notebook in front of him.</p><p>“Well, could’ve said it a little louder.” Thomas made a face. “Nothing but work with that guy around.”</p><p>“What a terrible fate for you,” Charles said flatly, “having to employ any amount of effort.”</p><p>“Oh, come off it. Just because you’d crawl in his lap right here if he’d let you.”</p><p>Thomas leaned in and Charles scowled at him. Thomas could be thick as a board, but when it came to figuring out what annoyed people, he had senses like a hunting dog. His pregnancy had made Charles more prickly when it came to alphas getting in his space, a common reaction; but where other omegas may have drawn back, it only made him want to plant his fist in the alpha’s stomach. Naturally, Thomas always had to hang all over him now.</p><p>“Obviously, you’re severely underemployed, since you’re bored enough to pick a fight,” he said, raising to the bait, holding Thomas’s gaze and leaning forward until their faces were only a couple of inches apart. “You should keep your big mouth shut before someone decides to indulge your wish.”</p><p>“Aw, don’t worry, Charlie. I wouldn’t hurt a little om-”</p><p>The sentence was cut off by Thomas’s collar, which suddenly pulled tightly around his throat. Charles looked up to find Haytham, who had grabbed Thomas by the scruff of his shirt to pull him towards the back of his chair.</p><p>“What the hell?!”</p><p>Thomas was halfway on the way to his feet, but Haytham’s gaze nailed him right back down. It was a fearsome glare that Charles had not seen from him before.</p><p>“Sit. I’ll have no such fighting here,” Haytham said coolly. “You’re an adult, not a school boy. You should know better than to crowd a pregnant omega.”</p><p>He went on to greet William without giving Thomas a chance to respond.</p><p>“What’s with him?” Thomas asked quietly. “He doesn’t usually stop us.”</p><p>As much as he disliked agreeing with Thomas, Charles had also thought that Haytham mostly found their quarrelling amusing. He would only interrupt it with a joke or a few words if he wanted to get something else done and had never bodily torn them apart before. As much as Charles and Thomas squabbled, besides, they had never come to blows, so the danger to the child was quite minimal.</p><p>“Well, no wonder Master Kenway would lose his temper eventually. You shouldn’t look for fights at a Templar meeting,” Charles muttered, anyway.</p><p>“What, suddenly it’s just me? Like you did nothing?”</p><p>Haytham glanced over his shoulder and they both snapped their mouths shut.</p><p>From thereon, the meeting went as many such occasions had. Haytham appeared as collected as always and Charles told himself that, like any new father, he had a right to be a little too concerned about the safety of his first child and that likely all that display had been about.</p><p>-</p><p>“It’s a tempting offer, but I wouldn’t want to impose on you.”</p><p>“You’re not. The room is empty, anyway.”</p><p>Besides that, living with Haytham had been pleasant. He’d only been here a couple of days, but Charles was already fond of his company over the breakfast table and the conversations they would have in the hallway when, busy as they both were, they met between engagements. If Haytham stayed here, he was sure they would have occasion for longer meetings as well, relaxing in the sitting room together as they were now.</p><p>Haytham gave a slow nod. “We are to be married, anyway – the neighbours don’t have to know that we aren’t already. It might not be the worst idea to have an alpha living here, either. You’re already showing through your clothes.”</p><p>The idea that people around them might think that Haytham was his husband if he came in and out of the house regularly had come to Charles, too, and appealed to him immensely even knowing that that part of the fantasy was likely to become true soon.</p><p>“Don’t worry, you won’t have to watch over me. I can take care of myself.”</p><p>Haytham smiled.</p><p>“I’m aware. Still, it’s always better not to invite trouble in the first place.”</p><p>“You’re right. Well, please make yourself at home. I have to be off for the evening and I might be late, but I’ll be happy to help in the morning.”</p><p>“You’re leaving at this time of night?” Haytham asked, raising a brow.</p><p>Charles pushed himself out of the chair. </p><p>“I’m collection information for William at a tavern. He says he needs someone who can talk to the sort of people that might balk at Thomas.”</p><p>“I see.” Haytham hesitated. His fingers flitted restlessly along the spine of a book on the table next to his seat, wound around a candleholder, but his face was blank. “I’m sure if William says so, it’s important. Try not to tax yourself too much, though. I commend your dedication to the Order, but you’re already a member now.”</p><p>Charles could guess that Haytham was not happy, but he simply nodded his head. He would show him that pregnancy did not make him less reliable. “I will be careful,” he said like a promise.</p><p>Haytham made no further comment. However, as Charles returned late that night, he saw a thin strip of light still shining under the door of the guest room.</p><p>-</p><p>“Master Kenway.” Charles had to move out of the way of the door as Haytham entered in a gust of wet autumn air. “You are just in time.”</p><p>“For what would that be?”</p><p>Haytham lifted his gaze past Charles’s shoulder and seemed to find his own answer in the lanky young man who stood behind Charles, still all smiles.</p><p>“Davin Newport,” he said, as he brushed past Charles to greet Haytham. “Grand Master Reginald Birch sent me.”</p><p>“Ah, yes, I did get that letter. I take from your speedy arrival that your voyage went well.” Haytham looked between them. “How did you end up with Charles?”</p><p>“Mr. Lee took me under his wings when I met him at the Green Dragon. I was originally going to go straight with Mr. Church, but he had to tend to a patient whose condition had suddenly worsened. I will visit him now and see if he’s available.” Newport glanced at Charles and Haytham. “I must say, I did not think you would already have an omega in the ranks of such a new chapter of the Order.”</p><p>“He has proven himself,” Haytham said and Charles suppressed all but a polite smile, even if he felt like beaming. “I hope you plan to do the same.”</p><p>“Absolutely. I’m already a member, of course, so hopefully you won’t have much work with me, Grand Master Kenway. I certainly wouldn’t mind if Mr. Lee showed me the ropes of your local Rite, though.”</p><p>“Right.” Haytham raised his brows. “I think it’s best you meet with Mr. Church now. You’ll find the way, I’m sure?”</p><p>“I think so. Mr. Lee described it, anyway, but I’m new to the city,” Newport said uncertainly.</p><p>“I could bring him,” Charles offered.</p><p>“I’ll have need of you,” Haytham answered curtly, and, with a resolute gesture, put his arm between Charles and Newport, forcing Charles to back a few steps further into the hallway.</p><p>Charles had only just enough time to see Newport’s startled gaze before Haytham closed the door in his face.</p><p>Haytham’s body and face were set in straight, tense lines, his lips pressed together. However, after a few seconds, he exhaled, dropping the arm that still barred Charles’s way to the door.</p><p>“I wonder what he’s going to write back to Birch about me...”</p><p>His expression was apologetic now as he glanced at Charles, who managed to shake himself free from his mix of confusion and careful hope.</p><p>“I’m sure he will have forgotten about this by the time he meets Benjamin. He seems like the type,” Charles said. “Although... I have noticed you’ve been rather agitated around me. I’m sure it’s just instinct, Master Kenway.”</p><p>He wasn’t sure if he was telling himself or Haytham.</p><p>“It’s nice of you to make excuses for me, but I really shouldn’t be behaving like this even if you are carrying my child.”</p><p>Charles collected all his courage.</p><p>“Perhaps it would calm you down if you could – close the distance for a moment.”</p><p>Something flashed in Haytham’s eyes, but he quickly put his hands behind his back, clasping them there as if to keep them under control.</p><p>“If there’s someone else, I would not want to put you in an awkward position. I’ll just have to get a handle on myself.”</p><p>“There isn’t,” Charles said with a shrug. “I don’t really have time for prospects, either.” Not to mention how singularly uninterested he’d been in any alpha but Haytham since he had met him. “It wouldn’t be any hassle.”</p><p>Haytham regarded him quietly for a moment, then took a step towards him. They were about the same height, but suddenly Charles had the urge to look up. Feeling small was not something he usually tolerated, but, to his own surprise, he didn’t want to lash out.</p><p>Haytham pressed against him with his full body, one hand coming up to pull aside his collar, face leaning against the crook of Charles’s neck. He could smell Haytham, feel Haytham on him, as Haytham’s hands meticulously wandered down his body, stopping just over his hipbones before he let go, suddenly and much too quickly.</p><p>“Thank you for indulging my foolishness,” Haytham said politely.</p><p>Charles stood in the hallway, torn between the thought that an alpha who had seemed so eager to mark his omega could not possibly not want him a little bit, and that one who had the self-control to just leave after coming this close must not want him at all.</p><p>-</p><p>This night, Charles had only just fallen asleep with a head that felt too full when Spado woke him back up again. However, it was not his usual energetic bark that did it. Instead, as Charles blinked into the moonlit room, he saw Spado as a bundle on the floor by his bedside, sniffing the air and whimpering.</p><p>With a frown, he reached downwards to pet him only to find that he was shivering, too. Very curious – Spado was exceptionally and recklessly fearless for a creature that could be gotten rid of with a swift kick.</p><p>Charles grabbed the dagger under his pillow, then reached for his pistol in the nightstand and found it empty. With a flash, he realised he had left it in his coat this evening and that hung downstairs.</p><p>He cursed under his breath, but swung his legs out of the bed, anyway. Staying here defenceless in his bed was probably the worst option and all reason aside, he’d always seen himself dying on his feet.</p><p>As he pushed open the leaning door another inch and peered outside, Charles could already see what had scared Spado. At first, he figured it was a tall man standing in the hallway. However, the shape then moved into a beam of bright moonlight falling through a window and Charles’ heart jumped into the back of his mouth.</p><p>The thing had a face that was half man, half bat, all twisted. Behind its back were folded leathery wings. It didn’t wear clothes, but its body was covered in short grey hair. It looked to be checking the air for scents just like Spado had, but its head suddenly swerved and its burning eyes settled on Charles. It hissed and to his surprise, Charles thought he could hear words in that ugly, dry noise: “You die.”</p><p>Charles charged at it. He had no choice. Whatever it was, it was clear it was not here for negotiations. As he did, the creature jumped, too. Charles dodged it narrowly, pressing against the wall, and swiped the dagger, leaving a slash in its back, tearing one of its wings. Screaming, the creatures turned and grabbed at his arm. Charles growled as he felt claws tear through his woollen shirt and the skin underneath, but he slashed at its wrist without leaving himself a moment for shock, well-aware his life and that of his unborn child were on the line. The creature was not deterred, however, and slammed him into the wall. Charles slammed his elbow against its snout, keeping his arm pressed against its forehead as it tried to press forward with blind determination to get its snapping fangs at Charles’s naked throat.</p><p>Its snarls turned abruptly into a howl. The grip on Charles’s arm slackened. In the tangle, Charles saw the flash of iron that burrowed from behind through its chest, protruding out of the flesh. Instinctively, he ducked away sideways, and then Haytham pressed the sword fully home, staking the creature against the wall. It muttered Haytham’s name in that voiceless, angry noise, before, like a letter held to the fire in the hearth, it began to crumble, quietly and quickly, into black ashes.</p><p>Haytham dropped the sword and rushed to Charles’s side.</p><p>“Are you alright?!” he asked, holding him by the shoulders. “Did it bite you?!”</p><p>Charles shook his head, still soldier enough not to lose his nerve right now despite all the questions rattling around his skull. He lifted his arm. “It scratched me, but not deeply.”</p><p>Haytham pushed up the shirt to see the puncture wounds and nodded his head with hesitation.</p><p>“Good. The bite is venomous, but this should heal.”</p><p>Charles studied his face. Haytham looked angry, but not surprised in the least.</p><p>“What in God’s name was that creature, Master Kenway?”</p><p>“Something I evidently should have told you about already.” He frowned, his grip on Charles’s shoulder tightening. “Have you ever heard of the myth of the vampire?”</p><p>Though he opened his mouth to say it was a children’s tale, Charles decided to keep quiet. He’d just been shown it was not. After the stories of the precursors he had been told, he should not act so surprised. Haytham had promised more secrets.</p><p>“This is one sort of them – the least dangerous since the least human. The more of such creatures you fight, the quicker you’ll realise that humans make the best monsters. Still, they make up for their lack of cunning with strength and will.” Haytham shook his head. “This is my fault. I hunted them on my mission and I had a feeling one had escaped me, but I convinced myself I was mistaken. I just wanted to return to you to keep an eye on you while you carried our child. Now I brought danger to your house.”</p><p>“You dispelled it, too,” Charles pointed out, looking at the pile of ashes.</p><p>“But I would have been too late if you had not defended yourself well against an unknown foe.”</p><p>His hand ran gently down Charles’s undamaged arm and Charles did not know if it was the chance provided by the tenderness or simple the fire of fight still thrumming through him, but he closed the distance and embraced Haytham tightly, all but yanking him closer. Haytham did not hesitate at all to take him in his arms. His scent and warmth calmed Charles’s boiling blood and the cold fear in his bones.</p><p>“Perhaps I should leave, in case more have followed. I think they would have attacked in a pack, though. Still...”</p><p>“We’ll fight better together.”</p><p>“The plan was for you not to fight at all.”</p><p>In no mood to argue, Charles grabbed him by his lapels and pressed a kiss to Haytham’s lips.</p><p>There was a second’s hesitation and for a brief, terrible moment he thought he had overstepped his boundaries, but then he felt Haytham’s mouth curve in a smile under his. He kissed Charles back, gathering him up in a hug.</p><p>“Then would you allow me to spend the night in your room? If I don’t, I will have to sit in front of your door or I will not be able to find peace tonight,” Haytham said with a lopsided smile.</p><p>Since he had already put it all on the line, Charles decided he might as well say the truth now with no regards for propriety: “You could spend every night there if you wished.”</p><p>Haytham raised his brows, plainly caught off guard, but with no hint of a frown on his face. “You’ve always been a singularly forward omega. I find that fascinating.” He leaned in to kiss him again, a short peck. “It also absolves me of the duty to ask such daunting questions myself. I’m spoiled.”</p><p>Charles did not let him pull away, kissed him again and again, despite the teasing. Haytham’s passionate response told him he had not only joked about his preference for impertinent omegas.</p><p>“First things first, though. Do you have bandages in your room?” Haytham asked against his mouth.</p><p>“They are just scratches.”</p><p>“I would have them patched up nonetheless.”</p><p>Though he really wanted to continue kissing him, Charles gave a nod. He could understand that Haytham might want to reassure himself that he was fine.</p><p>While Haytham went to get water from the kitchen, Charles fetched the bandages and a bottle of cheap alcohol for sterilising and picked Spado up from the ground, scratching him behind the ears.</p><p>“He woke me,” he told Haytham when he returned, setting the dog down again.</p><p>“I thereby lose my right to complain about loud little dogs for the remainder of our marriage,” Haytham joked as he sat down next to Charles, taking his arm.</p><p>“Good. I’ve always wanted more than one,” Charles answered, grinning.</p><p>“Perhaps our child can have its own protector.”</p><p>Haytham washed the wound with water and alcohol, then bound it tightly. Charles doubted Benjamin could have done it any better. Of course a man like Haytham, who was often on missions on his own, would be handy with wound care, as he was in so many things.</p><p>“I am glad you chose to initiate me yourself – that I got pregnant by you. Marriage to you is an honour, Master Kenway,” Charles burst out.</p><p>Shaking his head, Haytham set the bottles down on the nightstand. “The Order has a lot of old rules and I must bow to some of them. However, I had the pleasure to get to know you before I made the choice. I would have wanted to marry you even if you were a beta, or barren. The child is a welcome addition, but it was not the reason.”</p><p>Charles looked at him in such astonishment that Haytham laughed.</p><p>“But you seemed so distant!” Charles exclaimed. “Considering we already...”</p><p>“I didn’t want to impose on you, especially not since you had more important things to worry about.” He nodded towards Charles’s stomach. “I figured with things as they were, I would have my best chance to win you over during our marriage, when we’d already be living together. You always seemed partial to me, but I didn’t want to assume your affection was romantic and make you uncomfortable.” He cocked his head. “I should have known your temper is a bit too strong for such a sluggish approach, though.”</p><p>The admission made Charles’s stomach flip.</p><p>“I’m a little disappointed I won’t see you trying to seduce me now, Master Kenway,” he said, his mood much brighter.</p><p>“My plans in that regard are much too diverting to shelve them entirely. And after all, you have done much of the confessing that would have been my responsibility. I’m in your debt now.”</p><p>Haytham grasped him to kiss him and the want he showed was unrestrained, both the tongue pressing between Charles’s lips and the hands holding him tightly. Charles responded in kind, tugging Haytham closer by the loose shirt he wore, but this time, Haytham did not simply let himself be directed. Instead, Charles was firmly pressed back into the mattress.</p><p>Haytham had always managed to rein himself in quickly, but Charles realised now it must have been a sizeable effort, for none of that patience was present anymore. His hand pinned Charles quite effectively and after a curious, instinctive struggle, Charles’s muscles slackened suddenly when Haytham’s teeth locked around his throat. He couldn’t remember ever having such a visceral reaction to an alpha’s claim. Perhaps it was knowing Haytham had already put a child in him, or it was the scent Charles had gotten so used to, or simply that he respected Haytham more, but whatever the reason, it made him groan with pleasure.</p><p>He wrapped his arms around Haytham, pulling him chest to chest. During the heat, he’d at times lost control of himself and done similar things, but he’d always felt a bit awkward, too aware they were not truly lovers. Now, he could bask in Haytham’s close presence and when Haytham kissed him, he responded without shame, open-mouthed, greedy. He was still distracted by Haytham’s mouth when Haytham’s hand pushed into his breeches, brushing over Charles’s cock and angling his hand so his wrist pressed against it before he prodded a finger against his entrance.</p><p>“Are you in heat?”</p><p>“No... it just tends to happen,” Charles said somewhat clipped.</p><p>Being close to an alpha who triggered his instincts often led him to produce some slick. Not all omegas did and sometimes it elicited lewd comments, but Haytham only nodded his head. Charles found himself once more warm with affection that he was so well-mannered.</p><p>Perhaps it was also an opportunistic streak that made Haytham appreciate the fact, though, since Haytham did not lose the chance to press a finger into Charles, adding a second as soon as he felt Charles pushing up into his hand. He’d pretend to be patient some other day, Charles told himself, even if it would have painted a better picture of him; he’d waited too long for this.</p><p>Haytham sat up even against the strength of Charles’s grip. His loose dark hair hung to his shoulders and into his face, which showed a toothy smile. Charles had a moment to simply enjoy the sight before Haytham pulled back from him to take hold of Charles’s breeches.</p><p>Instead of just lifting his hips, Charles sat up, kicking off his trousers before he pounced on Haytham again. Haytham sat like a wall, grabbed him and pulled him to straddle his lap, freeing his own cock with his other hand. He yanked Charles tightly against him to put him into position and Charles sank down on him.</p><p>Haytham leaned backwards on one hand to give himself a little more leverage as he started to pump his cock into Charles, who clung to his shoulders. Haytham’s other hand had rested on his hip, but moved up now to thumb along the soft curve of his stomach, moving his palm there. Though it was not a hard touch, it was imperative, as if wordlessly declaring both Charles and the life within him as Haytham’s. Charles shivered.</p><p>He rode Haytham’s cock with abandon, Haytham’s gaze on him like hot light filtered through a looking glass, focusing him with immeasurable heat. It needed little more than a couple of strokes from Haytham’s hand to unwind his pent up lust, making him come over Haytham’s fingers.</p><p>Haytham sat up straighter as Charles was still gasping for air. He took hold of his sides, thrusting up into him with hard, slow strokes. They filled Charles fully and only sped up for a moment until Haytham spent himself deep inside him, holding Charles down by his hips.</p><p>It took a few moments until he released Charles. They sat on the bed together in silence as the air grew cold against their damp skin and Charles felt truly content for the first time in months. He picked up his trousers again.</p><p>“Did you have heats while I was gone?” Haytham asked.</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>They had barely been weaker than his real heats, too. Though he’d already procreated, Charles heard Benjamin speculate that heats still occurred to bond the alpha and omega closer and keep the alpha around. Consequently, Charles had been somewhat forlorn during them, though he was in too good a mood to mention it now.</p><p>“I have been remiss in my duties as husband,” Haytham said, as if he’d read his thoughts. “I hope that you’ll allow me to help at the next opportunity.”</p><p>“Gladly. We have some lost time to make up for even before that, though,” Charles suggested.</p><p>Haytham kissed him again, laughing quietly, and Charles smiled.</p>
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